The Phoenix street circuit

Location

Track length

First race

Last race

Contents

Towards the end of the 1980's, FOCA boss, Bernie Ecclestone had begun to charge a much higher premium in order to allow race organisers to host a Formula One event. From 1982 to 1988, the Detroit Grand Prix had been the main Formula One event in the United States. However, for 1989, Bernie Ecclestone demanded that the Detroit race organiser, Chris Pook pay $3 million and build a new and improved pit complex to keep Formula One in Detroit. Pook refused the offer, because Formula One's rival series, the IndyCar Series were asking for a mere $600,000 to host their event. Therefore, the Detroit Grand Prix had switched to IndyCars.

Bernie Ecclestone was determined to keep Formula One within the United States. Despite competition from Laguna Seca, Miami and Road Atlanta, the city of Phoenix was able to a secure a contract to host a street race in 1989. Jack Long whom was the race organiser for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal had convinced Ecclestone that he could set up a race within the desert city of Arizona.

On the 13th January 1989, Phoenix was confirmed to be the new home of the United States Grand Prix to which it would host its first grand prix on the 4th June.